Week 1 “Skill Position” Power Rankings

By N-F-L Correspondent Pat Lavery

Hello everyone! This is my first post for the site, chronicling the weekly exploits of the No-Fun-League. I will be doing weekly power rankings for the site.

However, they aren’t power rankings in your traditional team sense; rather, they are skill position rankings – pooling together the combined top 10 quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends (and in extreme cases, the kickers) who put up big yardage and/or scoring numbers every week. So without further ado, let’s get right to Week 1’s placings:

1. Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta

Old face, new place. In his first game as a Falcon after four solid (and underrated) years as LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup in San Diego, Turner ended up outplaying LT (21 carries for 97 yards and no touchdowns in a 26-24 loss to Carolina) by running for two scores – one of them a 66-yard scamper – and setting an Atlanta rushing record with 220 yards on the ground.

And by the way, setting any kind of record usually puts you towards the top of the list in my book. Yet the most astonishing part of Turner’s amazing debut was his efficiency. You saw that LT carried 21 times on Sunday? Well, Turner turned out his day in a tidy 22 carries…that’s right, an average of TEN YARDS per rush. Not only did he rush for 82 more yards than the next-best running back this week (see Willie Parker, below), but he out-rushed every other team except one (the Ravens, who combined for 229 yards). And, for all of you who care about more than just the stats, Turner’s big day helped ease the load on rookie QB Matt Ryan (9-13, 161 yards and a touchdown) as the Falcons beat up on the Lions, 34-21.

2. Eddie Royal, WR, Denver

New face, new place. Royal’s huge game, played in front of a national television audience at a hostile location (the Black Hole), didn’t exactly make him a household name overnight but it’s the best pro debut I’ve seen from an NFL player in quite some time. The rookie pulled in nine catches for a ridiculous 146 yards, adding a touchdown grab in Denver’s 41-14 embarrassment of Oakland. Fantasy owners, take note: Royal might not have been on your radar before Monday night’s game but he should be now. The second-round pick is Virginia Tech’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, and while he probably won’t this week due to Brandon Marshall’s suspension, he could in the very near future – especially when you take into consideration that newcomer Darrell Jackson has been in decline, both in productivity and health, for much of the past three years.

Side note: More than half of Broncos QB Jay Cutler’s completions and almost exactly half of his passing yardage for the night went to Royal, an indicator that the two have found a rhythm and familiarity that could continue to grow in the coming weeks.

3. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia

Old face, old place. After rumors swirled around McNabb for months about his future with the Eagles (and honestly, doesn’t it seem like these same rumors have been recycled for about three years now?), he showed why he has been so valuable to the Eagles after nine seasons. Finally healthy at the start of a season for the first time in what seems like forever, McNabb showed some real leadership on the field. He made a receiving corps sans Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown seem like the former nickname for his opponents on Sunday, the now-hapless Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf. McNabb tore apart the Rams’ defense in the Eagles’ 38-3 victory, completing 21 of 33 passes for 361 yards – the best passing game of the week, yardage-wise – and three touchdowns, including a 90-yard strike to WR Hank Baskett.

Don’t get this McNabb confused with the McNabb of old, the scrambler who has accrued nearly 3,000 rushing yards in his career and who rushed for more than 300 yards in each of his first five seasons. This McNabb isn’t that mobile. But if he stays healthy, he’ll show this year that among all the “rushing quarterbacks” who ever played the game, he deserves to be mentioned right up there with Steve Young as the best pocket passers to fit that description.

4. Willie Parker, RB, Pittsburgh

Parker, who would have cracked the top three if not for Michael Turner’s phenomenal performance, nonetheless completes the top offensive foursome for this week: Turner, the leading rusher; Royal, the leading receiver; McNabb, the leading passer; and Parker, the leading scorer. The Steelers star ran for three touchdowns and 138 yards, averaging five-and-a-half yards per carry on his 25 touches. A skilled pass-catcher, Parker didn’t see a throw come his way in Pittsburgh’s 38-17 win over Houston, but he turned out to be the 2nd-leading rusher of the week and, out of the top four players on this week’s list, might be the most dependable over the course of the season. Expect him to appear consistently on this list in the coming weeks.

5. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago

In a game that no one saw coming (the Bears’ 29-13 spoiling of Indianapolis’s new stadium christening), the running back that few saw coming stole the show. Drafted in the second round out of Tulane back in April (and once intended to be the third-string running back), Forte stepped into the starting lineup on Sunday night and delivered in a big way: 23 carries for 123 yards (a 5.3 yard average) and a 50-yard touchdown run. He also showed pretty good hands out of the backfield, leading the evenly-spread Bears’ receivers with three catches on the night. Now, whether he can keep it up next week against Carolina remains to be seen, but it’s enough for this week that he’s the second rookie in my top five.

6. Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans

Now, before you make an argument that Plaxico Burress, Brandon Jacobs, Randy Moss, or Bush’s teammate Drew Brees should be in this spot, consider two factors: one, Bush’s performance on Sunday confirmed (if only for one week) my belief that he was going to be a fantasy sleeper this year, and justified (again, only for this week) my way-too-early selection of him in my league’s draft; and two, that he scored a touchdown and did not turn the ball over in the Saints’ 24-20 win over the Buccaneers. None of the other players I mentioned can claim both accomplishments this week. Bush only rushed for 51 yards on 14 carries, but he led the team in receiving, picked up 163 total yards, and his 42-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, one of the highlight-reel plays of the week, almost warrants his inclusion on this list by itself.

7. Randy Moss, WR, New England

He’s still the best receiver in the league, and made the most out of the least opportunity this week in the Patriots’ 17-10 victory over the Chiefs: 6 catches for 116 yards (which ranked 3rd for Week 1), including one 51-yard reception and a touchdown. But he did turn the ball over once by fumbling (the play in which Tom Brady was injured), and his continued appearance on this list hinges, as does everything else about the rest of the Patriots’ season, on the right arm of Matt Cassel.

When all was said and done, though, he had the highest yards per catch average of any receiver with at least 6 catches this week, and moved up several career leader boards: he is now 13th all-time in receiving yards, 4th in touchdown receptions, 8th in total touchdowns, and his 56th career 100-yard game puts him 3rd all-time among receivers. And as I said, records count on this list. You could make a case for the Texans’ Andre Johnson in this slot (and many people would, with 10 catches for 112 yards, including 8 receptions for first downs), but now with Brady gone…as Moss goes, so go the Patriots.

8. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas

Romo beats out Drew Brees of the Saints and Jay Cutler of the Broncos, who both looked great, for the 8th spot here mainly because New Orleans and Denver already have other representatives (who were perhaps more crucial to their teams’ wins) on the list. While Romo’s vital signs might have been a wash – one touchdown and one interception – he had an extremely accurate day, completing 75% of his passes (24-for-32) for 320 yards, 3rd behind McNabb and Brees, as well as spreading the ball around to seven different receivers. He’s a lock to show up on this list a few more times before the season is over.

Plus, ESPN.com Page 2 writer DJ Gallo wrote a classic bit about Romo and his celebrity girlfriend/airhead, Jessica Simpson, in his weekend recap. I won’t rehash it here, but suffice it to say the joke involves buffalo wing sauce. “Tony Roma’s” was once a restaurant chain specializing in barbecue ribs. Coincidence? I think not.

9. John Kasay, K, Carolina

You won’t often see kickers on this list, but aside from Reggie Bush, Kasay had the most clutch performance of any point-scorer on this list this weekend. The Panthers needed every one of their 26 points to stun the Chargers, and Kasay provided 14 of those points, registering a perfect 6-for-6 on the day in kick scoring, and recording field goals of 30, 33, 44, and 49 yards. That’s it. He’s a kicker. There’s not that much more to say.

10. Plaxico Burress, WR, and Brandon Jacobs, RB, New York Giants

The Giants duo gets a joint entry at the end of the list because both of them had a solid, but not statistically spectacular, day at the office on Thursday night against Washington. Had Eli Manning not played simply mediocre in the second half (8-14, 75 yards, 1 interception, 2 sacks), the Giants might have put up more than 16 points, most likely scored by either Burress, Jacobs, or both, and the two would be higher on this list and probably separated. Still, Manning and Burress showed the best chemistry of any quarterback/receiver combo this week not named Cutler and Royal, as Burress tied for the league lead with 10 catches for a 2nd-best 133 yards.

Jacobs had a representative game, breaking tackles and running over Redskins defenders to total 21 carries for 116 yards, 4th among rushers this week (you’ve already read about the other three). Yet considering the explosiveness of all the other players’ performances on this list, the longest single play either Burress or Jacobs registered all night was 30 yards, and neither got into the end zone despite accounting for 249 combined yards of the Giants’ offense. All in all, expect both of them to return to this list – and place higher – several more times before this season is done.

Honorable Mention:

at QB – Brees, NO; Cutler, DEN; Philip Rivers, SD

at RB – Adrian Peterson, MIN; Tomlinson, SD; Frank Gore, SF

at WR/TE – Johnson, HOU; Baskett, DeSean Jackson and Greg Lewis, PHI.